Yeehlow

When it comes to sharing the same house, finding the right flatmates can seem as hard as the quest for the Holy Grail. Yeehlow put together a list of five essential points to alway keep in mind when trying to fill those empty rooms in the best possible way.

Be honest

When writing on social media groups or advertising you available rooms on rental websites (like these) make sure to explain exactly what kind of people you are looking for. Be honest about your daily routine, your occupation and your hobbies. Whether you love parties or hate them, or you enjoy spending time by yourself instead of engaging in small talks, just state it clearly. It will save you precious time and make sure you’ll be contacted by people on the same (or, at least, similar) wavelength.

Meet with potential candidates

Once you’ve received a few messages from interested people, arrange meetings with those you consider to be the best candidates. Show them the place, ask questions about their habits and professional occupation, and find out if they’ve already had some actual experience of living in shared houses. If you’re going to live together, consider sitting down and have a coffee to catch a first impression about how the two of you could get along.

Write it down

When you think you’ve find the ideal flatmate, put it all on paper. Arrange all the legal and financial procedures in the right way and make sure you have all your documents properly filled in and signed (Yeehlow can help you with this!).

Even if this may look like like a lot of work at the moment, in time it will spare you awkward misunderstandings if some part decides to leave earlier, doesn’t pay the agreed rent or suddenly wants to terminate the contract.

Get organized

You made it! Your new flatmate just moved in. That’s the perfect moment to make things clear about the simple things of everyday life: how will you organize the grocery shopping or the laundry? Who should clean the kitchen and the communal areas, and what about overnight guests?

Setting rules and shifts from the very beginning will provide answers to all the little unasked questions we have in mind when moving in a new place with new people.

Communicate

If you plan to bring some friends home for dinner or you made an appointment with the plumber, just say it in advance to your flatmates so that everyone can get organized. Also, don’t be afraid to talk about possible problems you experience in the house: living together is indeed a big deal, and small quarrels here and there are perfectly normal. You can consider creating a group chat to make communications run faster and smoother.